Two Kenyan athletes banned for doping at the 2015 world championships tell The Associated Press and SNTV that the chief executive of Athletics Kenya solicited a USD $48,000 bribe to reduce their four-year suspensions - an allegation that CEO Isaac Mwangi strongly refutes.

SOUNDBITE: (Swahili) Francisca Koki Manunga, athlete:

"We went to speak to Mwangi to ask him how it was going to be. You know, something that you have never done before and you get caught, we went and asked him and he told us that we could remove something small. He told us 2.5 (about USD 25 thousand) and I told him that from when I was born, I have never had such an amount of money, and there is no way. Even if I sold everything, I wouldn't be able to get together that amount of money. This is the reason he did not give us the paperwork that was given out while we were at the World's (Championships). There is paperwork that was given out, written about what had been found (in the positive test for doping), he didn't give it ( the paperwork) to us. He had it, He was waiting for us to give him money, so that this 'thing' disappears. We kept quiet and later that's when our names came out and we were told that we've been banned because we did not deliver that money."

SOUNDBITE: (English) Isaac Mwangi, CEO Athletics Kenya:

"I think this is laughable, in the first place, its naivety of the highest order, if I'm to say so. Number one, these ladies, their cases, now that it is in the public domain, it was informed to them, in Beijing China, okay, and if it was informed in Beijing, China, how then can the federation (Athletics Kenya) bring it back and say, you give money and then? It's not possible, how?"

SOUNDBITE: (English) Isaac Mwangi, CEO Athletics Kenya:

"The rule says, starting this year, last year actually, if you are caught in any doping allegation then the ban is 4 years, standard. If you are a multiple offender then again 8 years. It's the rules, its not AK (Athletics Kenya's rules), and this, they need to understand very clearly. So whether someone is claiming they asked for money or they did, there is nothing, the process is very clear. It's so detailed here, for anyone, and this is not the first case anyway. I am not shocked, that this lady can allege that. I am not shocked."